12:19 AM,
Sep. 14, 2012

Fennel is an edible herb with bronze or green ferny foliage known to attract Black Swallowtail butterflies.

Written by

Donna Legare
Special to the Democrat

The plants that caterpillars need for sustenance are all about us - trees like sweetgum, hickory, wild cherry, oaks, pines, garden weeds like cudweed and rabbit tobacco. Caterpillars reside high in the trees and down low to the ground. Most are eaten by birds and other predators or succumb to parasites or disease, but a few live on to transform into butterflies and moths.

Sometimes butterfly gardeners intentionally invite caterpillars into their gardens by planting specific plants upon which female butterflies lay eggs. When the eggs hatch, the tiny caterpillars feed upon their specific ...